Two studies involving University of Waterloo researchers presented this week at the 2016 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Toronto highlight a new diagnostic tool that can identify Alzheimer’s disease long before the onset of symptoms as well as the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in Ontario.

Window to the brain

Alzheimer’s disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose and nearly impossible to catch early. This could soon change with a new type of non-invasive eye scan developed and patented by Professor Melanie Campbell. It uses polarized light to highlight deposits called amyloid proteins found at the back of patients’ retinas decades before they experience cognitive decline.

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